NEWS

News and Blog

When we set out on our adventure in agriculture one of the few things we both agreed on is that we did not want to be a dairy farm. As with so many things in life, thoughts and ambitions change with time. So guess what?!?!?

Were adding dairy to our farm!

This endeavor started just as so many others have on the farm, with an innocent statement "What do you think about trying (fill in the blank)". Well for your information this is not an innocent question but more like a loaded statement.

So there it begins.....

We started out on a trial run with another local farm who are dear friends of ours to see the viability of selling Animal Quality dairy along with our other offerings to our loyal customers. This trial was going well with decent results for the four week trial.

This is where things get interesting, if you need to refill your drink I suggest you do so now!

Just after our third weekend of trialing the dairy product, we received information on an opportunity to expand the dairy operation into a significant part of the farm.

No undertaking such as this done without considerable contemplation on the realizing the benefits and understanding the risks. In the end the decision was based on the peoples passion and need for these products.

We are extremely thankful for the opportunity given us by Walt and Jan to continue the work they have done with fueling the local food movement.

While we have a learning curve we are partnering with and supported by knowledgeable experts and passionate customers that will be pivotal to our success.

We expect a full transition of the dairy operation in Mid-October, with the final date to be determined in the coming days. Following the transition we will begin distributing the Pet Quality Milk on a Weekly Thursday delivery route and at our Saturday market. We will also be available for on farm sales with proper notice.

While we will have the milk initially, the yogurts and other products will follow shortly.

So you may be wondering how you can help with this undertaking?

First and foremost you can be a loyal customer and supporter of our farm and our new venture.

Secondly, in the coming weeks we will be releasing a fundraising campaign to generate funds for building a permanent dairy on our farm. Your donations and support of this campaign are an absolute necessity for success.

We understand that not everyone is able to donate to the fundraising, but we do ask that if you are able to share it with your social media networks and other networks, please do so.

With your help we will build a functional dairy built on a foundation of quality and safety.

It has been an eventful and busy last few weeks. We have the roof as well as most of the walls on the shed. While it is 53'x 32' it is already getting full. We have received many of our inputs for this growing season which is helping to occupy some of the space. It is nice to start finding a home for things.

The greenhouse is beginning to fill up with all of our starts for the year. To help regulate the temperature we have basically put a greenhouse inside our greenhouse by using left over poly from both our greenhouse and high tunnel. On cold nights we add extra heat under the bottom layer to ensure the idea temperature for germination is maintained.

The high tunnel has been cleaned prepped and seeded for early spring produce. We are still amazed at how effective both the greenhouse, but especially the high tunnel heat up and retain their heat.

This week as long as the rain hold off we are going to start preparing beds for planting potato and various other spring crops.

The pigs have been rocking out in their woods. They are growing well. We look at their weight on a weekly basis to ensure we get them bred as soon as possible.

Oh the chickens! They have been toying with my emotions lately. Not only are they being stubborn and not laying eggs in their nest boxes they decided to take a break from laying all together. While chickens generally slow down in the winter, they usually increase production as the day length increases. We decided our chickens need some help so there are now golf balls located in the next boxes to help the chickens learn where to lay.

Now comes the chilis! We had a few pounds of dried chilis from our production last year. It was decided that these would help our chickens remember that they need to lay eggs. So far it seems to have worked. We are experiencing a three fold increase in eggs!

Well these past few weeks have been a roller coaster of weather along with everything else. Here at the farm we have seen high temperatures of almost 70 and then the next day the weather not even making it past freezing. There has been weeks of no precipitation and then almost four inches of rain in 12 hours.

We have been working on many projects around the farm, but two major ones have been the focus of much of our time. The pole shed is coming along well. This will house most of our implements, tools, tractor, fertility inputs and everything else that we can cram in it. The southside is dedicated to our new and spiffy produce washing and storage station. We are going to run water and electric soon. We are also putting in a new cold storage room.

The other project spearheaded by Mary has been the finalization of our farm plan for the coming year. This is basiclly the what, when, how, and where everything we are producing this year. This includes the livestock as well as markets, CSA, and wholesale.

We are widening the variety of produce planned and are also looking at putting in various long term plants such as raspberries, sugarcane, pecans, hazelnuts, and anything else that fits Mary's whimsy.

If there is anything you would like to see, please let us know and we will see what we can do.

No were not expecting again, this is one of the test strips from the conference on producing Human Pathogen Free Strawberries. The researchers at TSU are working on making a cost effective field assay to determine the presence of Salmanella, E. Coli O:157 and Listeria in strawberry samples. In as little as 15 minutes a result can be had.

As food safety and security come to the forefront of our food supply, tests like these will be indispensable to not only producers, but also consumers. As part of their research they tested samples of strawberries from three sources including Walmart, Kroger, and a local farmer in Morgan County, TN. The imported strawberries from Mexico sold by Walmart developed a positive test result in four hours. The strawberries from California supplied by Kroger developed positive results in 20 hours. Finally the locally produced fresh strawberries took ELEVEN days to develop positive results!

While there are multiple hypothesis for the results including lack of sanitary conditions and practices. there is a clear divide on the differences between produce that is shipped in vs. locally produced foods. This difference is only realized if the locally produced food is handled appropriately.

We are working on implementing harmonized GAP (Good Agriculture Practices and Good Handling Practices) process into our farm. As we build our washing, packing and storage faility we are attempting to mitigate the risks and provide the safest produce to you and your family.

If you have questions on food safety or the steps we are taking please feel free to get the dialouge started.

Many people think that during the winter is the time a farmer takes a break, but I am here to tell you that is anything but the truth. Just because the temperature drops does not mean the work takes a break. On a farm there are always things to be done. Our day as have been spent caring for the animals, tending to overwinterimg crops, planning next season and trying to not get cabin fever.

These past few weeks have been filled with redesigning our website and marketing information ( which for us are business cards and banners), picking up supplies, and ordering our seeds and planting stock.

This year is a very exciting year for Lazy Dog Farms! We are increasing our production of certified organic broiler chickens and eggs, we have added forest raised Berkshire hogs, will be raising heritage turkeys, doubling our crop production area, and serving our local area through a CSA.

The excitement is catching as members have already starting signing up for their CSA share to ensure they get their share of what is growing at Lazy Dog Farms. There are still more spots open, but don't wait to long, once their gone their gone until next year.

Whether it is the the regular or small weekly share or the biweekly share, our CSA has an option for everyone. You can sign up at http://www.lazydogfarms.com/members/types .If you have questions please do not hesitate to ask us.

Remember when you spend you're money on locally produced food products over three quarters of every dollar spent stays locally in the community vs. the less than a quarter of every dollar spent at the grocery store on non local items.

Happy New Year! We hope you survived the holiday season unscathed. The past few weeks have been very busy here at Lazy Dog Farms. Not only are we trying to get our newest farmer Wyatt up to speed on farming and just being plain cool, we have been chilling with Sophia running amuck in the ... well muck from all of the darn rain. We decided that it was time for a new look for the website.

While our website version 1.0 worked for its time, these times are changing. We wanted to provide a more user friendly interface for our customers. We also wanted to provide access to information concerning our farm. Finally we wanted to try and integrate technology into our operation with the use of a website and integrated CSA software package. We hope that you find it informative and easier to navigate...Oh and it just plain bad ass compared to the old one!

As you look through the site, you will see there is the ability to sign up for one of our CSA options for the 2014 season. Along with the produce share you will also be able to add shares of certified chickens and eggs.

WE HAVE PIGS! No need to say anything else about that!

Oh did we mention that we are an authorized reseller for the certified organic, GMO free, Antibiotic free, and Hormone free chicken feed? If you’re looking for small quantities then we are the source, since shipping rates for single bags adds about 25 dollars per bag.

Hmm I know I am forgetting about a zillion other things to tell you, but I am just so excited about our new website, I am sure it will hit me tonight while I am sleeping.